Hurricane Adrian a few hundred miles off Mexican coast with another storm expected behind it

What started as an unusually quiet period for the Eastern Pacific has turned active, with Adrian rapidly intensifying into the first hurricane of the season a few hundred miles off the coast of southwestern Mexico while another tropical disturbance behind Adrian is expected to develop into the season’s second named storm.

Typically, the first named storm forms on June 10, and the first hurricane develops on June 26, so the Eastern Pacific is running slightly behind schedule, which is unusual for an El Niño year.

During El Niño patterns, the Eastern Pacific is known to be extremely productive with warm water temperatures and relaxed upper-level winds.

Where is Hurricane Adrian now?

Hurricane Adrian is located more than 350 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico.

Sustained winds were last estimated to be around 75 mph with higher gusts, which makes Adrian a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Due to the system’s proximity to Mexico and Central America, higher-than-average seas are expected for the next few days. The additional motion in the ocean could help enhance rip currents and lead to rough boating conditions.

Due to the limited threats Adrian poses to Mexico, no watches or warnings are in place.

What is the forecast for Hurricane Adrian?

Due to an upper-level ridge of high pressure in place north of Adrian, it is expected to slowly trek toward the west over the open Eastern Pacific Ocean through Thursday. A turn toward the west-northwest is then forecast on Friday.

The same area of high pressure has helped produce a historic heat wave for parts of Mexico and Texas.

Adrian is expected to continue strengthening over the next couple of days, with winds that could reach at least 90 mph, but forecasters warn the prediction could be conservative, and Adrian may become stronger than forecast.

Regardless of Adrian’s intensity, increased waves and higher surf could impact Mexico’s Pacific coastline into the weekend.

Weakening is expected to begin by late Friday as Adrian moves over cooler waters.

What else is being tracked in the Eastern Pacific tropics?

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) continues to track a tropical disturbance dubbed Invest 92E a few hundred miles south of the coasts of Guatemala and southern Mexico. An invest is a designation the NHC uses to identify an area of disturbed weather being investigated for possible tropical development.

Continued development of this disturbance is expected, and the NHC believes a tropical depression is likely to form during the next couple of days while it moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph.

According to the NHC, the disturbance has a high chance of development over the next 48 hours.

If this system organizes enough to become a tropical storm, it will earn the name Beatriz.